Alfieri, Vittorio << ahl FYEH ree, veet TAWR yoh >> (1749-1803), was an Italian playwright and poet. On Jan. 16, 1749, Alfieri was born into an aristocratic family in Asti, where French was the spoken language of the nobility. The experience of writing his first play in 1774 taught him how imperfectly he knew Italian. He studied Italian language and literature so he could write tragedy, a literary form long ignored by other Italians. From 1775 to 1787, Alfieri wrote 19 verse tragedies, most of which reflect his hatred of tyranny and his admiration of human dignity. These themes helped arouse a spirit of nationalism in Italy. All his plays have a mythical, Biblical, or historical plot. His best works include Filippo (1775), Oreste (1786), and Mirra (1786). Alfieri wrote many poems, a treatise in defense of liberty, and a lively two-part Autobiography (1790, 1803). He died on Oct. 8, 1803.
